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C/2016 M1 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Nearest approach24 Jun 20188.72.278 AU1.293 AU 18h07m-42°22'161.0°8.4°4°
Perihelion10 Aug 20189.32.214 AU1.790 AU 15h00m-57°05'100.6°26.7°102°
Today4 Nov 202526.419.064 AU18.457 AU 06h19m+13°07'126.5°2.4°280°
C/2016 M1 (PANSTARRS)- 2025-11-04
astro.vanbuitenen.nl


 
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The interactive orbit chart above shows the comet's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)


Light curve

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the comet's magnitude. Blue and black dots are visual and photometric CCD observations from COBS. This lightcurve is being recalculated every 6 hours based on the available COBS/MPC observations (currently 3.5 + 5 log[∆] + 13.0 log[r]). An additional green curve is displayed when an increase in apparent brightness is expected due to forward scattering of sunlight, which occurs when a dust-rich comet is located between the Earth and the Sun. (See Marcus 2007)



Charts

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the comet over the same period as the light curve. The comet's current position is marked yellow.





The following chart shows the short-term path of the comet in a field of view that is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.




Orbital elements

The orbital elements of C/2016 M1 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.9998380
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 2.2139980
    i (Inclination)                 : 90.81310
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 92.27850
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 209.92500
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 91.81050
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -29.92168
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2458340.77320

    Epoch                           : 2023 Sep 24
    Reference                       : MPEC 2022-ED3

    Classification(s):              : Nearly isotropic; New (a > 10000 AU)

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-11-03 00:00 UT   06 19 44.5   +13 07 05    18.470   19.056  124.9    2.4   279   26.4 
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   06 19 36.3   +13 07 03    18.462   19.061  125.9    2.4   279   26.4 
2025-11-04 12:57 UT   06 19 31.9   +13 07 02    18.457   19.064  126.5    2.4   280   26.4 
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   06 19 28.0   +13 07 02    18.453   19.067  127.0    2.4   280   26.4 
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   06 19 19.4   +13 07 01    18.445   19.072  128.0    2.3   280   26.4 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   06 19 10.7   +13 07 00    18.438   19.077  129.0    2.3   280   26.4 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   06 19 01.8   +13 07 00    18.430   19.082  130.0    2.3   281   26.4 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   06 18 52.7   +13 07 01    18.422   19.087  131.0    2.2   281   26.4 
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   06 18 43.4   +13 07 01    18.415   19.093  132.0    2.2   281   26.4 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   06 18 33.9   +13 07 03    18.408   19.098  133.0    2.2   282   26.4 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   06 18 24.3   +13 07 04    18.401   19.103  134.0    2.1   282   26.4 
2025-11-13 00:00 UT   06 18 14.5   +13 07 07    18.395   19.108  135.0    2.1   282   26.4 
2025-11-14 00:00 UT   06 18 04.5   +13 07 09    18.388   19.114  136.1    2.1   283   26.4 




    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between comet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between comet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-comet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-comet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km

Orbital elements usually provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Observations contributed by observers worldwide, via COBS (Comet Observation Database) or the MPC (Minor Planet Center)
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.

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